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John Fay has been the Reds beat writer for the Enquirer since 2001. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles for the Enquirer: backup Reds writer, UC beat writer, backup Bengals writer and as a general assignment reporter. He is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of Elder High School and the University of Dayton.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Astros 7, Reds 2; Harang's short night

I was curious why Jerry Narron took out Aaron Harang after six innings. Harang was at 101 pitches. That's not a ton for Harang. He was a bit sick before his last start.

If the bullpen -- Todd Coffey and RhealCormier -- hadn't given up six runs, it wouldn't be a big deal. My guess was Harang was still feeling the affects of the flu, although he didn't pitch like it. He allowed three hits, two walks and struck out eight. He retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced.

But Harang wasn't ill.

“Just the situation of the ballgame dictated it,” Narron said, “101 pitches in six innings, early in the year.”

Harang did not seem upset by the decision.

“I worked hard in those innings I got in the jams,” he said. “Mentally, it takes a lot out of you.”

Harang really only had one tough inning -- the fourth when he threw 30 pitches.

5 Comments:

Thanks for checking that out John. It will be interesting to see if Harang is still feeling sick or if it was something else.

What's really got me right now is how quickly Krivsky has turned this team into "his type" of team. Just two years ago this team had to average 7 runs a game to win consistently. Now they could win consistently if they just averaged 4 measly runs a game.

I mean think about it: Did you ever think you would be saying that within two years of Krivsky taking the job the Reds' strength would be their starting pitching and their defense and that their biggest weakness would be scoring runs? I sure didn't, but I like the direction the team is going. Bottom line is that Dunn and Griffey have to start carrying this team now that solid bats like Lopez and Kearns are gone. If the Reds didn't have Josh Hamilton on the roster I would already be looking forward to next year, but the young guy has me thinking that anything is possible this year.

One thing that everyone is overlooking right now is that Majewski and Bray are going to be a HUGE boost to this club if they come back healthy and play up to their ability. With above average pitching and defense, the only question mark is whether this team will hit. 18 months ago who thought we would be saying that?

This is my 50th year with the Reds through thick and thin. I am retired military and followed the Reds from all over the world. Hamilton has made my year. Yes, I remember Vada Pinson and Robbie. Wally Post, Smoky B and George Crowe were my favorites until Pete. I say catcher, catcher, catcher! Where are they since Bench? The pitching is there with a catcher to lead it. The catcher cannot be lost in his world of personal woe. Three or more lost games, so far, due to thinking mistakes and leadership in pitch calls. Thanks. COL Chuck Campbell retired Army.

I like the last post, but I don't think Kearns will ever pan out. He's currently around 260 with no power (0 homers). He'd be riding the bus here in cincy with Freel and Hamilton taking most of the ABs. He probably is counting the days for the opening of the new ballpark in DC.

Lopez is hitting better, but again no power. We're better off with a defensive shortstop and Gonzalez is doing as well at the plate as Lopez,so far.

It's a long season and the Reds are doing a good job treading water so far. They say it's a game of streaks, so we'll have to see how many winning streaks are in these guys.

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